1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, and method for assisting a user to exercise while listening to music.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to perform exercise such as walking or jogging while listening to music with a tempo well matching a tempo of music thereby leveling the tempo of exercise in synchronization with music and thus reducing a load imposed on an exercising person. To make it possible to easily use this technique, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-156641 discloses a technique to control the tempo of music being played in accordance with a walking pace.
To make it possible for a user to perform a particular amount of exercise at a moderate pace, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-024467 discloses a technique to advance a virtual reality game with advance in an exercise menu so that the user can continue exercise while enjoying the virtual reality game.
The techniques disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-156641 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-024467 are advantageous in that instead of patiently performing monotonous exercise according to an exercise plan in terms of an exercise time, a moving distance, the number of times, etc., a user can enjoy performing exercise until a goal is achieved.